Tag Archives: culture

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My friend Jim Knaggs is retiring from a long leadership career in The Salvation Army. He finishes his work as the Commissioner for the Western Territory of the United States, and certainly as one of the most respected leaders in this remarkable global organization. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Jim for the last few years as we created The Salvation Army Vision Network – the first “digital street corner” for an organization that was founded by

I’m always interested in examples of creative people doing Christian media right, and so I took notice when my friend Larry Ross recently sent me a copy of The Kingstone Bible, a graphic novel version of the Bible from Kingstone Comics based in Florida. It’s currently available in a 3 volume, full color, hardback set that adapts the entire Bible into the form of a graphic novel. A team of 45 artists, all with experience working for Marvel and DC Comics produced the illustrations. The 2,400 page project launched November 1st with a

Starting in 2014, the Jerome Lejeune Foundation in France, produced a short, two and a half minute film called “Dear Future Mom.” It was created in response to a pregnant mom who just discovered her unborn child had Down syndrome. She asked “I’m scared: what kind of life will my child have?” The short film is a powerful set of interviews of children with Down, and a compelling argument for life. Here’s the film:

Now that the news media is slowing down their coverage of the life and death of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, I thought I might post a few thoughts after filming in the country in early 2016. While most of the world seems to agree that he was a brutal dictator (according to CBS News, nearly 20% of the entire population of Cuba has fled the country since the revolution), it was surprising to see how laudatory many world leaders have been about his decades of rule. Some acted as if they were eulogizing a saint. So having traveling to Cuba to film earlier this year, I thought I’d share a few thoughts about what I encountered in the country.

We live in such a media-driven culture, that it’s growing more and more difficult to distinguish real life from our favorite characters in books, movies, and television programs. There’s growing evidence that younger viewers in particular have difficulty understanding the difference. A good example is a recent psychological study by Andrew Butler where

Social media has revolutionized our world by giving individuals the potential to become weapons of mass influence. It’s been said that a housewife in Tulsa can bring down a major corporation just from the momentum of social media. But with all weapons they can be used for good or evil. They can protect or they can destroy. With this great power comes a great responsibility and a desperate need for standards. That’s why Jeremy Burton wrote

Few times in American history has there been so much turmoil, rancor, and potential corruption in a presidential election. Confidence in both candidates has been at an all time low, and for the first time, one of the candidates has actually been under a federal investigation. But now the election is over. You may or may not like our new president, but the question becomes:

I’ve written many times on this blog about the danger of “clutter.” Clutter comes in all forms – from the media voices screaming for our attention, to the messy desk in front of us (where was that file again?) to the million other options that keep us from pursuing our creative calling. We don’t have to be minimalists – I love being surrounded by my favorite things – but far too often we let piles of paper, stacks of books, or other “stuff” become

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About Phil

An internationally known writer and speaker, Phil Cooke has actually produced media programming in nearly 50 countries around the world. In the process, has been shot at, survived two military coups, fallen out of a helicopter, and in Africa, been threatened with prison. And during that time – through his company Cooke Pictures in Burbank, California – he’s helped some of the largest nonprofit organizations and leaders in the world use the media to tell their story in a changing, disrupted culture.